Behind the Voice: Emma Hewitt

It’s one thing to give a track something extra, but it’s quite another to carry it to a level where all else fades but that one voice. She’s done it though. Australian singer Emma Hewitt first hit in with ‘Carry Me Away’, shortly followed by megahit ‘Not Enough Time’. Both tracks eventually led to a collaboration with Dash Berlin, with ‘Waiting’ as the result. Emma’s bittersweet, sugary but not sticky, powerful vocals make this first single of the Dash Berlin album one with intensity. Not even close to giving in to silence, this lady continues to leave her mark on dance music. Let’s see what’s she’s all about, as we take a look behind the voice of Emma Hewitt.

Armada: When did you first start singing? Emma: “Years ago when I was about 16 I started singing in cover bands, I quickly got bored of that and moved on to writing music and singing in original bands and acoustic acts. Singing and music has been a major part of my life in some form for as long as I can remember.”

Armada: How did you notice there was more than just a good ring to it?Emma: “Singing was really the only thing I ever wanted to do, and I really wasn’t great at most other things!! So I guess I just had to hope there was more than just a good ring to it!!”

Armada: Did you ever take singing lessons, or have you learned the techniques all by yourself?Emma: “I never really had singing lessons, I was shown a few vocal exercises, but I felt a lot of the people coming out of lessons lost some their distinctive style and began to sound similar to each other. I did learn classical piano for years though.”

Armada: Did it take long before you were confident enough to do live performances?Emma: “Yeah, I am naturally quite shy, so the live performance thing is something I have really only become comfortable with in recent years, and only due to the fact I have been doing it for so long now I think.”

Armada: Have you always known you were going to be professionally involved with music? Or did you chase other dreams when you were younger?Emma: “I was very focused on music from a young age, I never even entertained the thought of heading in another direction. I have had many sideline jobs, just for the sake of survival, but I purposefully chose jobs I never wanted to stick at for long so I wasn’t distracted from where I wanted to head. These jobs just inspired me more to get out and pursue music.”

Armada: There must have been some point where you made the choice to go for music professionally. When was it?Emma: “When I was very young, before I even finished school I decided I wanted to pursue music professionally. I guess I started to make the decision a reality when I signed my first publishing deal at about 20 years old. It has taken quite a few years to reach a point where music has provided my only income though.”

Armada: Has dance music always appealed to you?Emma: “I have always listened to dance music when going out with friends and loved the sounds, but to be honest I am relatively new to the scene. I was more of a rock singer and grew up in the world of bands and pub gigs. Dance music offers such a broad spectrum of possibilities with sound though, I am loving the freedom of recording electronic music, there seems to be much more room to experiment and try new things.”

Armada: It was ‘Carry Me Away’ that caused your big breakthrough. How did you end up working with Chris Lake? Ever thought the track was going to be this big?Emma: “I met Chris a few years back while I was living in London. He originally asked me to sing on his track ‘Changes’ but the song didn’t suit my voice so we decided to write something new from scratch. ‘Carry Me Away’ was written and recorded in a matter of hours in Chris’ home studio. At the time I had no idea it would be released, so it was a big and pleasant surprise when six months later Chris let me know the song was coming out and getting a pretty good response. It was just one of those happy chance occurrences.”

Armada: Afterwards, you’ve worked with Serge Devant, Cosmic Gate, Marcus Schössow and Dash Berlin. How do you select who you want to work with or not?Emma: “It always comes firstly down to the track, if I am sent something I really get a vibe on and am inspired to write to. Sometimes I am sent great tracks that just don’t lend themselves to my style of writing. I have been really lucky to work with a fantastic bunch of producers so far who are all very musical, I am a big fan of all of their individual styles and sounds.”

Armada: Still dreaming of any special collabs?Emma: “Ha, perhaps’_ I guess I will just have to wait and see what the year has in store for me’_”

Armada: The third single of Dash Berlin’s artist album ‘The New Daylight’ will be a collab with you, ‘Waiting’. What can you tell us about the track?Emma: “I really loved the instrumental the guys sent through, so I was very excited to work on this track. I think the song is quite uplifting and hopefully with a chorus that people will be able to sing along to.”

Armada: What makes it so nice to work with Dash BerlinEmma: “Dash Berlin is lovely, and very switched on professionally. He also approaches things in a very musical way, always driven by the song first, which is something I find invaluable when collaborating with people.”

Armada: You’re also touring with Jeff, performing live. Are there any more plans in the making which involves you and DB?Emma: “Yeah, we have developed a great working relationship, so we have already started writing and recording one or two tracks for their next album in 2010. He’s really thinking ahead!!”

Armada: What else can we expect to hear from you in the next few months?Emma: “The Andy Duguid mix of ‘Light’ with Marcus Schössow is about to filter out, I am so happy with this track! There will be a track released shortly with Ronski Speed, I am very lucky here too as I am a big fan of his sounds and am loving what he has done on this one! I also have a track with Gareth Emery scheduled for release in November, I am so excited to hear what Gareth does as he is such an amazing producer!! “